The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1258

 Chapter 1258

 

“Ah, n-no….”

The Bear Alteration Demon lowered his eyes slightly. The Bearwolf sorcerer’s mask he’d been wearing was already shattered, so there was nothing left to hide his expression.

“Why.”

Raon placed a hand on the Bear Alteration Demon’s shoulder and leaned in, forcing their eyes to meet.

“You said you were going back to Eden.”

He repeated exactly what the Bear Alteration Demon had said out on the plains, a faint curl forming at the corner of his lips.

“T-that’s not what I meant! I only said that if I went back like this, I might die!”

The Bear Alteration Demon shook his head violently, his eyes trembling.

“Right now, Eden is sealed by the Heavenly Demon’s order, so if I, who disobeyed his command, go there, I’ll be killed!”

Blood spilled from his mouth as he shouted that he couldn’t go back to Eden because Syria Sullion had forced him to defy the Heavenly Demon’s orders.

“Ah, right. Syria Sullion.”

Raon grabbed the Bear Alteration Demon by the chin and forcibly turned his face.

“I should start by asking about him.”

“He’s definitely dead, right?”

Syria Sullion was a parasite-like bastard who had once had his head cut by Raon, only to come back to life and torment Runaan again. Raon needed to be absolutely sure this time.

“B-Baphomet is originally a monster that lives while possessing two souls. That’s why it uses a greatsword and a staff at the same time, despite how mismatched that is.”

The Bear Alteration Demon bit down hard on his lip, as if recalling Syria Sullion.

“If Syria Sullion had truly taken Runaan Sullion’s soul, then the soul that died by your hand would have revived. But since that didn’t happen, he won’t be coming back this time.”

He nodded, insisting that Syria Sullion was unquestionably dead and trapped within Runaan’s sword field.

“So that’s why he revived before.”

Raon let out a short, humorless chuckle as he recalled the moment Syria Sullion’s corpse had vanished.

“Well, Eden is full of freaks and twisted sorcery anyway.”

Compared to the snake-helmeted man who came back from the dead again and again, changing the color of his helmet each time, Syria Sullion, who had only revived once after being killed, almost seemed normal

“What sorcery did you cast on Runaan?”

Raon looked at the Bear Alteration Demon with a cold, murderous edge in his voice.

“I-it’s ancient dream-illusion sorcery. It lures humans into a dream world, swaps reality and illusion, and turns them into puppets.”

The Bear Alteration Demon swallowed hard, watching Raon’s expression grow steadily colder.

“As expected.”

Raon nodded calmly. Just as Evelyn had suspected, the Bear Alteration Demon’s sorcery had been used to turn Runaan into a puppet.

“I-I only did what Syria Sullion told me to do! The materials, the children, he brought all of it! And hiding the nightmare artifact in Runaan’s pillow was all his doing too!”

The Bear Alteration Demon’s hands shook as he insisted that he’d merely operated the sorcery and that everything else had been Syria Sullion’s work.

“B-because of that bastard, I’m about to be discarded by Eden too—”

“You’re loud.”

Raon frowned and lashed out with the tip of his foot, smashing it into the Bear Alteration Demon’s cheek.

Bam!

He had only hit him lightly, yet the Bear Alteration Demon slammed back into the wall without even having time to scream.

“Guhhh….”

His cheek caved inward unnaturally, and he let out a dying, broken groan.

“Only answer what I ask.”

Raon bent his cold gaze downward and slowly raised a finger.

“You never know which words might be your last.”

Emphasizing that he could kill him at any moment, Raon placed his finger against his lips.

“Ugh….”

The Bear Alteration Demon, desperate to live, nodded repeatedly while kneeling.

“I thought it was strange how easily Runaan fell under the sorcery. So you used an artifact directly.”

Raon clicked his tongue, recalling Syria Sullion’s sly eyes and grotesque smile.

“I assume he had a mole inside house Sullion?”

It was exactly the sort of thing Syria Sullion would do.

“Y-yes. I don’t know the details, but I heard he threatened one of the servants and had them hide the artifact in Runaan Sullion’s pillow.”

The Bear Alteration Demon’s jaw trembled as he explained that even he didn’t know who had carried it out, only what Syria Sullion had told him.

“And Runaan Sullion had been at peak Grandmaster level for quite some time. She was desperate to break through into Transcendence. Because of that, it was easier than expected to draw her into the dream world.”

He narrowed his eyes, saying that tempting her was easy because of her obsession with power.

“An obsession with power, huh….”

Raon smacked his lips quietly.

‘Was it because of what I said before?’

Before going into secluded training with his grandfather, he’d gathered the Light Wind Palace swordsmen and told them to push themselves as far as possible before the war with Eden.

He’d even advised Burren, Martha, and Runaan to try breaking through the wall of Transcendence. It seemed that advice had turned into poison.

‘I need to be more careful with how I advise or criticize them.’

Subordinates could move in ways completely opposite to his intentions. He realized he needed to think far more carefully before saying things like that.

“Finding the servants who followed Syria Sullion shouldn’t be difficult.”

Raon traced a slow circle in the air with his finger. With Syria Sullion dead, finding the butlers or maids who had helped him wouldn’t take much effort.

“Will there be any lingering effects on Runaan?”

It had been an exceptionally powerful sorcery, and Raon wanted to make sure it hadn’t left any lingering effects on Runaan.

“N-no.”

The Bear Alteration Demon shook his head firmly.

“Runaan Sullion broke my sorcery with her own power. There are no aftereffects at all. If anything, she likely achieved tremendous spiritual growth.”

He lightly bit his lip, adding that she was likely stronger spiritually than she had been before.

“It wasn’t just her own power.”

Raon lowered his hand calmly.

“If Runaan had been alone, she never would have broken your sorcery, or Syria Sullion’s scheme.”

It was because Burren, Martha, and the Light Wind swordsmen had held the line at Birdnew village that Runaan was able to gain enlightenment and grow stronger.

If she’d been alone, she would have been completely devoured by Syria Sullion’s malice and enslaved by Baphomet’s helmet.

That’s right.

Wrath nodded in agreement.

It was also the power of the bonds that the ice cream girl had built.

He smiled faintly, saying that the reason Martha and Burren risked their lives was also because of the relationship of trust they had built with Runaan.

‘Yeah. They’re basically family now.’

Raon slowly closed his eyes, then opened them again. If Martha or Burren were in danger, Runaan would unquestionably do the same. The bond between the three of them had grown deeper than family.

“I know enough about Runaan now. So let’s get back to the main issue.”

Raon lifted his foot and pressed it into the wall the Bear Alteration Demon was leaning against.

“I-I’ve told you everything I know. What main issue—”

The Bear Alteration Demon lowered his eyes slightly, as if pleading to be spared.

“Eden.”

Raon spat the name like a curse.

“Where is Eden located?”

The Bear Alteration Demon was different from the other demons of Eden. Unlike those driven mad by their desire for restoration, who wouldn’t break even under torture, he still had a mind similar to a human’s, so it seemed possible to extract information from him.

“I-I don’t know Eden’s exact location either.”

The Bear Alteration Demon frowned, as though he’d expected the question.

“When you go to a designated place, gatekeepers appear and transfer you to the headquarters. If it weren’t for Syria Sullion, I wouldn’t have been able to leave at all.”

Once again, he shook his head, insisting he knew nothing more.

“Then take me to that designated place.”

Raon grabbed the Bear Alteration Demon by the collar and yanked him to his feet.

“I’ll handle the rest.”

*   *   *

“Hoo….”

Burren let out a quiet breath as he gazed at Zieghart’s walls, white as a frozen wasteland.

“Fulfilling a mission as a leader is truly exhausting. I think I finally understand why Raon misses these walls so much.”

He laughed, saying he now understood why Raon always reacted that way whenever he returned from a mission.

“I-I’m sorry.”

Dorian bowed at a perfect right angle to Burren.

“I had no idea something like that was happening over there.”

He bit his lip as he looked at Martha, who was still unconscious.

“What are you apologizing for, our mission was to protect Birdnew village.”

Krein frowned sharply, saying there was nothing to apologize for.

“Krein’s right.”

Burren nodded in agreement.

“You all followed my orders perfectly.”

He gave a calm smile, making it clear that Dorian had nothing to apologize for.

“Right. We could’ve dealt with it earlier… if things had gone differently.”

Krein clicked his tongue as he glanced toward Runaan on his right.

“K-Krein!”

Dorian grabbed Krein’s arm and shook it.

“What? I’m not wrong, am I? If you weren’t in a good state, you should’ve asked for help!”

Krein was the type of person who spoke his mind even to Raon, and he didn't hold back now, glaring openly at Runaan.

“Who here would have said no if she’d just asked?”

He stomped the ground roughly, irritation spilling over.

“Ggh…!”

Dorian’s jaw trembled as he looked back and forth between Runaan and Krein. He’d known Krein for a long time, but this was the first time he’d ever seen him genuinely angry at a superior.

“Krein isn’t wrong.”

Trevin, the Warring Steel Division leader, nodded as if he felt the same way.

“The Warring Steel Division hasn’t been with the Light Wind Palace for long,” Trevin said.
“But you weren’t alone.”

He frowned, making his meaning plain. Even if she couldn’t confide in him, there were others she trusted, people she could have asked for help.

“Hmm….”

Mark Goetten, arms crossed, also dipped his chin, clearly agreeing with Krein.

The other swordsmen looked at Runaan with similarly subdued expressions, as though they shared the same thoughts.

“…….”

Buren said nothing, to Runaan or to Krein and the Light Wind Palace swordsmen. He simply turned and walked toward Zieghart’s main gate. This was something Runaan had to face herself. He had no right to interfere.

“…I’m sorry.”

After adjusting Martha on her back, Runaan turned to face Krein and the Light Wind Palace swordsmen.

“I let my own greed get the better of me…”

She bowed deeply, saying it was all her fault.

“Uh—um….”

Krein blinked, clearly not expecting such a straightforward apology.

“I’ll repay this debt. All of it….”

Runaan pressed her lips together, vowing to make amends for everything that had happened.

“No, that’s not what I mean!”

Krein thumped his chest in frustration.

“This isn’t some kind of debt. It’s just—”

He stepped toward Runaan, brow furrowing deeply—

BAM!

A sound like a firework exploding rang out as Krein collapsed onto the ground.

“Augh! Wh, what the hell…?”

His jaw quivered violently from the pain.

“Hey. How am I supposed to sleep with all this noise?”

Martha, who had been on Runaan’s back, slowly lifted her head. It seemed she had punched Krein on the head with her fist.

“L-Lady Martha!”

Krein swallowed hard when he met her fierce glare.

“Martha….”

Runaan twisted around in shock at seeing her awake.

“My head hurts, so stop calling my name so much. And….”

Martha sighed as she looked at Krein.

“If you’re going to argue, do it later. This is the front gate of Zieghart!”

She gnashed her teeth, asking if he intended to embarrass the Light Wind squad in public.

“H-hic… s-sorry!”

Krein began hiccupping, startled by the ferocity in Martha’s eyes.

“Heh.”

Buren let out a faint smile, relieved to see that Martha looked fine.

“Alright, then. Let’s go in—”

“Well said.”

Just as he was about to tell them to head inside, a deep voice rang out from above the wall. A massive man leapt down.

THUD!

Illiune, the foreign minister. The man who had guarded Zieghart’s walls for decades landed heavily before the Light Wind swordsmen.

“You can settle your talk later. Get inside quickly. The acting head of house is waiting.”

Illiune slightly furrowed his brow, telling them not to keep Zieghart’s ‘head of house’ waiting for long.

“Looks like your father’s been waiting for you so long he’s about to lose his patience.”

Martha snorted, thinking of Karoon.

“No. The acting head of house currently running Zieghart is…”

Illiune shook his head firmly as he looked at her, an intrigued expression crossing his face as he lifted his chin.

“Raon Zieghart is the acting head of house.”

 

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